Chương 131: Chapter 128: War in the Skies (2)

Kaldrek had watched what had happened on the ship to the left. At first, he had feared for Thalion's life as the lightning attack had no real effect on the ship. The crew of the ship was still so preoccupied with preparing for the fight to come that they completely ignored the eagle. Then he saw Thalion enter the hull of the ship from below, which was the point where he didn't see how the guy could survive. There were just too many people in the skyship.

Even though Thalion was incredibly strong, it wouldn't be enough to fight against fifty, maybe even more, fighters at the same time. At this point, Kaldrek couldn't watch much longer since he had to command his own ship. All three ships slowed down, just as the five black ones on the opposite side did, both sides finishing the final preparations for an air battle. Then it happened: the ship on the left, the one Thalion had entered, lost its mainmast—or at least the mast was broken and slowly fell to the side.

Kaldrek saw the captain of the skyship shouting at her crew in anger while pointing below deck. This scene put a smile on his face; probably Thalion was already on his way out after destroying some important devices. To his surprise, what happened next was not Thalion exiting the ship through the hull, but instead, large parts of the deck were destroyed by powerful magic attacks.

He was about to ask Maike if she had seen anything like that before, but the next moment, Thalion appeared on deck, and in an instant, everyone on deck died, including the captain. Kaldrek and the others watched in surprise as some simply fell to the ground, their blood draining from their bodies, while the rest, who looked stunned, were killed by red vines shooting out from his body.

"How did he get this strong? And what was that attack?" Edrion asked him from the side. Everyone had watched what had happened. They could see the surprise and disbelief in the eyes of the enemies on the remaining ships—especially those on the ship next to the destroyed one. Looking closer, it was not just surprise but maybe fear? Kaldrek wondered as he observed his enemies. Well, it didn't matter now. There would only be one victor and one loser.

Kaldrek would do everything in his power to avoid ending up in the latter category. Instead of answering Edrion, he gave his own little speech.

"Everyone, get into those magic circles and charge your most powerful spell—or do you want to give all the credit and experience to Thalion? Mages, focus on the shield. I don't want a single attack slipping through. The fight will begin at any moment." The last fighters stepped into the magic circles with determined expressions. Everyone knew there was no way back for them.

Kaldrek turned the ship to the side so it wouldn't collide with the remaining four ships, which started the same maneuver, only turning to the other side. If everyone held their course, they would circle each other while both crews bombarded the opposing ships with incredibly powerful spells amplified by the magic circles beneath them. The scouting vessels they had brought along were still waiting for their chance to drop off their attack group.

Kaldrek had commanded them to wait for the initial exchange to reduce the risk and make the approach safer.

"We are in range! Fire!" Edrion shouted beside him, loud enough to be heard on all three ships. Hell broke loose. All kinds of spells—ice shards, fireballs, and even some kind of acid attacks—were fired. The archers, with their arrows fully charged, unleashed them at the other ships. The enemy ship's shield vibrated under the first onslaught, but it held strong, with no cracks or signs of weakness showing.

Then it was the enemy's turn, and even more spells crashed into Kaldrek's shields, making them vibrate as well. The other ships went even further, sending out groups of fighters flying toward them. Kaldrek had fighters prepared for such a moment and signaled them to engage. He also ordered the smaller scouting vessels to begin their attack. Then the next round of attacks started, as the mages and archers had charged up their next volley and fired again.

All ships had an almost dome-like shield on the side facing the enemy. No ship had the capacity to shield everything at once with such strength, which was exactly why both sides sent out warriors to bypass the protected sections. If some attacks slipped through—or worse, if a group of fighters managed to breach the ship—it could turn the tide of battle.

This was another reason why Kaldrek didn't wait to order the scouting vessels to attack and drop off their fighters after the first exchange, which should occupy most of the enemies attention. The enemy had more ships, which meant greater firepower, and they needed to compensate for that as fast as possible—or they would lose. Thalion saw from his position as the fight started, and both ships began bombarding each other with all kinds of powerful skills.

He deactivated the fear effect of his armor to avoid affecting his fighters, as many were now trying to attack the black ships from behind. He activated Mistform, and with incredible speed, he shot around the shield of the black skyship next to him. He appeared on top of the crow's nest, which on this ship had a magic circle within it, where two mages were firing spells at the ship Kaldrek commanded. Thalion shapeshifted into the umbral predator and pounced on the mages.

One managed to use a teleportation skill and appeared twenty meters below on the deck. The other mage was too slow and died instantly after a sharp claw ripped him in half. Thalion followed the first mage and landed right in front of him, but the mage teleported a few meters away. He wasn't worth chasing for the moment, as Thalion switched targets, aiming for the fighters in the magic circles. He used shadow claw repeatedly, killing as many people as possible.

In retrospect, it wasn't really necessary to avoid using his human form, as none of his fighters had entered this ship. Well, it didn't matter much. This way, he could work on his fighting skills as the umbral predator. Some might argue that most of the time, it was all pure violence and strength. Thalion didn't want to change that—he only wanted to get better at it. He blurred between attacks, dodging the spells fired at him while unleashing shadow claw after shadow claw, killing fighters left and right.

His attacks also damaged the ship, ripping holes in the railing and cutting ropes left and right. Some of the sails were also partly ripped to pieces. One mage tried to fly up, but Thalion still caught him. Now, more and more fighters came from below deck to help their teammates. For Thalion, they were just more enemies to slaughter as he continued his massacre. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The absurd healing speed of the umbral predator, combined with the power granted by his connection stolen from the outsider, made him nearly invincible. As long as no major skill hit his head, it all would be fine. He could easily dodge dangerous attacks, thanks to his title, which allowed him to sense them in advance—all to the dismay of the enemy fighters. Then a man landed in front of him. He was heavily muscled and clad in black armor with red runes etched into it.

The man wore a helmet adorned with bull horns, resembling something a Viking might favor. Unlike a Viking, however, the man wielded no weapons. This had to be one of the leaders of the base, but going into a fistfight against the umbral predator seemed like a poor choice from Thalion's perspective. The man's armor glowed faintly with red runes, which didn't seem to represent blood—more likely flames, based on the feeling his title gave him.

Thalion could hardly believe the man was unarmed; perhaps he would draw a weapon at a more convenient moment. No matter; Thalion had no time to waste and blurred into action. The warrior was no pushover. His armor burned with fire as he punched at the umbral predator. Thalion was willing to trade blows as he continued his onslaught, pushing forward. No one should be able to harm him significantly with a single punch in this form, and if that happened, he was confident his healing was superior.

His claws ripped through the armor and carved deep wounds into the man's chest until a fiery fist hit Thalion. The force was immense, sending him flying across the deck and crashing hard into the railing. Flames shot out from the man's fist before the impact, now trying to burn Thalion's flesh. Thalion's darkness annihilated the flames in seconds. When he looked at the warrior, he saw how his own darkness was almost consumed, burned away as the man's wound fully healed.

This was definitely someone blessed by a god—such abilities should otherwise be exceedingly rare in the tutorial. Thalion stood up, ripped off a section of the railing, and hurled it at the man. He hoped the railing might act as a distraction, but the man simply turned into flames and reappeared a few meters to the side, avoiding the object entirely. Now, more and more warriors were coming out from below deck to support their leader.

This wasn't too bad for Thalion, as he started ignoring the strong enemy and instead focused on the weaker fighters. He moved rapidly, avoiding incoming attacks, and slashed at his enemies with shadow claws. Occasionally, the fire warrior would teleport in front of him and try to land a punch, but the umbral predator was too fast, dodging to target another enemy instead. Of course, Thalion was hit numerous times by spells and arrows, but never directly; those wounds healed in seconds.

So far, everything was going well for him—he kept killing warriors while avoiding the fire-wielder. The problem was that there were far more warriors on this ship than the other one, and he wasn't killing them fast enough. It was time to change tactics. Now, it wasn't just about killing the people—it was also about destroying the ship. If the ship went down, all those fighters would find it much harder to be useful, and Thalion could continue his fight with the fire warrior in the air or on another ship.

After a short time, the mainmast broke, and all the magic circles and the steering wheel were destroyed. Thalion was hit multiple times, but nothing could stop him; the damage healed in seconds. It was time to leave—but not before gathering all the resources lying on the deck. Thalion jumped into the middle of the deck, shifted back into his human form, and used manawave, pushing as much mana into the skill as he could manage in that brief moment.

The fire warrior, who was growing increasingly angry as the fight dragged on, was the first to be blasted back. Next, Thalion activated his armor by flaring his aura, blood harvest, and the vines of sanguine thorns, unleashing maximum carnage. He stood in the center of the deck as multiple warriors perished, their blood violently ripped from their bodies or torn apart by vines. His amulet grew stronger, absorbing the lingering souls of the dead.

Thalion didn't know how long a soul could exist after the body was destroyed or someone died, but it must be at least a minute, judging by the power the amulet gained. The fire warrior was strong enough to resist the mental attack of Thalion's armor, effortlessly deflecting both its effects and the efforts of sanguine thorns to drain his blood. Thalion noticed that a red crystal on the warrior's necklace was glowing with a bright red light. Was it a talisman to protect against mental attacks? Doesn't matter.

Time to die, Thalion thought as the blade of the blooded templar appeared in his right hand, and he dashed forward. No one should match his level of swordsmanship, and his equipment was surely among the strongest in the tutorial. The man glanced at the weapon in fear before transforming into flames and flying toward the large ship in the center. Kaldrek followed Thalion's fight with one eye while bellowing orders.

That guy was truly something else—in his umbral predator form, he healed instantly, and his stamina seemed inexhaustible. Thalion just kept attacking and moving at incredible speed. At times, it looked as if he had eyes in the back of his head, dodging empowered attacks aimed at him from behind. Sadly, Kaldrek had to look away as two figures entered his ship—the leaders of the vessel in the center. This meant there was still one enemy leader on the main ship.

No ships were firing anymore, but fierce battles had broken out on every ship and even in the air between them. Now these two powerhouses had entered Kaldrek's ship, and he wasn't sure he could defeat them. Ever since the integration, Kaldrek had been driven to survive and grow stronger. His reason was simple: he had a great family and a younger sister he wanted to protect.

Kaldrek hadn't appeared in the tutorial without any of his family or friends nearby, and since then, he'd been striving to grow stronger for them. They must have landed in a different tutorial—or perhaps they were somewhere in this one. At first, Kaldrek had tried to cover as much distance as possible by running and fighting constantly, hoping it would lead to a reunion. But he had given up on that after meeting Kael.

He realized the only guarantee of a safe future for his family was to become as strong as possible. This was why he avoided risks—any time he encountered a beast or human who seemed stronger, he ran. But now, there was no such option. The lives of his men were on the line. He was an elite warrior, and it was his duty to face the enemy's elite warriors. There was no way around it. Edrion stood by his side, but he was far weaker. These opponents were likely blessed by gods and already at level 80.

The only reason they hadn't evolved yet was probably that they were aiming for a high-rarity class. Kaldrek himself was at level 72, while Edrion was level 69. The two men wore powerful black armor with fiery red runes etched into it. One carried a broadsword, while the other wielded a black metal staff. Both appeared to be melee fighters; their muscular builds suggested they weren't mages. Kaldrek had never managed to gain a blessing, and he hoped he could compensate for the stat difference with skill.

Was that likely? No. Could he find another way to win this fight? Not really. Perhaps if he managed to stall long enough for Thalion to return, but that seemed unlikely. Kaldrek sent a distress signal with his token to the others, informing them that he would be fighting two elite enemies and needed help. Hopefully, it would be enough to survive. He drew both his curved longswords, one crackling with lightning and the other burning with red-hot flames.

The blades, crafted by Lucan, had crystals embedded in their hilts to amplify the power of his skills. They were still weaker than his opponents' weapons, but they would have to suffice. He would see his family again, and nothing—no one—would stop him. His eyes narrowed, and his grip on the longswords tightened as the four combatants exploded into action, charging at one another with blinding speed.